It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Offering ourselves to God is what we worship about. Let us share our talents and resources to God with all our hearts and souls as one network of the Catholic Media that is pro-life, pro-people, pro-poor, service and community oriented.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

7ID Receives 284 Candidate Soldiers

FORT RAMON MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – The
Division Training School (DTS) of the 7th Infantry (Kaugnay)
Division (7ID), Philippine Army, held the opening ceremony and reception rites
for the Candidate Soldiers Course Class (Cl) 362 & 363-14 cross-trained
with (ctw) Jungle-Warfare-Mountain-Operations Course (JWMOC) this June 16, 2
pm, at the 7ID Grandstand in the said camp.

The Candidate Soldiers (CS) were the
applicants who passed and qualified for the requirements and tests needed to
enter the Philippine Army. The requisites include legal documents like NSO birth
certificates; barangay, police, mayor’s, regional trial court, and NBI
clearances and certification of legal beneficiaries, among many others.
Entrance examinations include physical exams; the Philippine Army Aptitude Test
Battery (PAATB); and the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) care of the Division
Special Services Office (DSSO). There were 284 all-male CS who partook in the
event.

Said program was spearheaded by Col Dionisio
C Baudin Jr, Chief of Staff of 7ID.

Part 1 of the rites was initiated by the mass
singing of the “Lupang Hinirang” as
performed by the 7ID Band; it was followed by an invocation lead by Cpt
Ferdinand H Abuyuan, the Division Chaplain. Maj Earl C Pardillo, the Executive
Officer (Ex-O), DTS, 7ID, PA, headed the Presentation of Candidate Soldiers.
The Declaration of Opening was then delivered by Lt Col Dennis R Pacis, Commandant,
DTS, 7ID, PA. The highlight of the first length of the ceremony, was the Oath
Taking of the CS which was headed by Col Wilfredo M Villahermosa, the Assistant
Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, G7, 7ID, PA. A message of
challenge and motivation was delivered by Col Baudin, entailing the benefits
and hardships a soldier must face.

“Today marks a very important part of your
life, and that is being accepted as a candidate soldier. Hindi pa kayo sundalo na kumpleto, pero sa susunod na anim na buwan
you will be trained to be one. Gentlemen this is not an easy task. I can say
that from 32 years ago, I can find myself in the same situation as you are,
when I entered the Philippine Military Academy summer of 1982. And I’m sure you
are excited because after handling the basic requirements, and over thousands
of applicants, you are here, 284 strong. That’s why I am congratulating you
already. Hindi madali yung pinagdaanan
niyo. Now the question is, sasayangin
niyo ba yung pinagdaanan niyo?,” Chief of Staff, 7ID challengingly said.

To the parents and relatives of the CS, Col
Baudin gave a message, “Kailangan nila
ang suporta niyo. Hindi madali ang pagdadaanan nila. They will be getting
their strength from you.”

“Today, we will separate the boys from the men.
And we will only choose the men. We will discard the boys. Losers are those who
think they are defeated. The hardships will end but the glory will not,” Col
Baudin ended.

Part I of the ceremony was wrapped up with
the mass singing of “Pilipinas Kong Mahal”
accompanied by the 7ID Band.

After the first part of the ceremony was the
so-called “Reception Rites” care of the DTS. It is the Army’s tradition of
‘receiving’ the qualified applicants into the military profession. The 284 CS
were divided into 8 groups at 8 stations, requiring 10 minutes per station. The
stations included crawling, rolling-like-a-barrel, jogging in place, one man
carry and jumping jacks, among others. A total of 80 minutes was allotted for
the said rites.